Monday, Monday
by Aldrean Treu Peri
Summary: Monday, the only day of the week that is viewed in a bad way universally. Even though it’s based on “Moon day’, Usagi doesn’t like it and neither does Mamoru. These two have quite possibly the worst day yet and it seems as though nothing could m


Monday, Monday …

Tsukino Usagi was in a very bad mood as she stalked down the busy, crowded sidewalks of Tokyo, her small hands clenched into fists at her sides and a glower on her face that made friends and complete strangers keep their distance.  Naru had given up the case shortly after lunch and Makoto and Ami had just tried to steer clear of Usagi's warpath for as long as they could, even Ms. Haruna's rotten day couldn't hold a match to Usagi's.  She scowled fiercely at the crosswalk that flashed to '**DON'T WALK**' just as she reached the corner of the intersection.  The glaring red words paid no heed to the young woman's foul mood however and remained frozen on the two warning words for a goodly time before finally changing.  Usagi was struggling with two different wants – needs basically – deep within, there was one part unaffected by the anger boiling within that didn't want anyone to approach, after all, she'd feel sorry later if she involuntarily hurt someone's feelings in her blind rage, but another, dark little part longed for someone to come along and test her.  

            It was a Monday and that alone had signified the start of something horrible to her …yet another week of school.  She had overslept as usual, but this time she had woken even later than usual and bore fresh scratches from when she had stepped on Luna's tail after crawling out of bed.  Shingo had been on her case instantly and she tripped and tumbled down the stairs while arguing with her younger brother, then, her father had proceeded to lecture her on the importance of good grades in school and studying and she had gotten syrup in her hair while trying to grab a bite to eat.  Ditching breakfast to hop in the shower and clean her long golden locks of any sticky substance, she had left home, without her lunch as her mother had slept in – her right given that it was her birthday – and Usagi had had no time to make a lunch for herself.  Wearing a wrinkled school uniform accented with black cat hair and decidedly damp from her wealth of honey-golden hair hanging down past the back of her knees to dry instead of in her customary odangoes, she had charged off to school with Luna nagging in her ear.  

            While racing down the street she had banged her elbow on a lamppost as she sped by and she only realized that her briefcase was under her bed, entertaining the dust bunnies while still coveting her unfinished assignments, when she finally reached the gates to school.  She arrived at school late for class, without her school bag or schoolwork, still half-asleep and with an empty stomach.  Ms. Haruna started in on her in front of the entire class and then given her detention and a pop quiz that Usagi was almost positive she failed.  And from there it had only gotten worse.  She'd had to attend each class without her materials and had gotten an earful from Ami that sounded very similar to her father's speech earlier that day.  She starved through lunch, scraped her knee after she fell out of a tree trying to retrieve one of her art drawings that one of the school bullies had stuck up there and she tore her skirt, earning a reprimand from just about everyone.  Since school had gotten out, she discovered a hole in her pocket where her allowance had been, her hair hadn't dried properly and was insisting on misbehaving, detention had run longer that normal and she had to sit through Rei yelling at her for being late – again – for the senshi meeting.  As a result, the girls had cut her off from the goodies for the day.

            Now she was heading to the arcade to blow off some steam before heading home to show her parents another poor mark and she discovered a painful sliver in the web of her left hand, plus her head was throbbing mightily with a doozy of a headache.  It came as no surprise to her that the weather decided to add insult to injury by drizzling cold, fat raindrops as the wind started to pick up and thunder and lightning crashed and boomed in the distance.  As if things weren't bad enough – she found herself sitting in a puddle of dirty water on the ground after colliding forcefully with Chiba Mamoru and, furious as she was with her day and the world in general, she didn't feel like digging her personal hole any deeper and besides, even he didn't deserve her wrath on this of all days.

            Fixing him with a hard gaze she called out sternly,  "Not today!" 

            And then, wonder of wonders, he nodded curtly.  His voice was gruff, almost a growl as he replied,  "Agreed." And the two had risen and gone their own separate ways, for once without ripping each other's heads off.  Usagi smiled wryly to herself, perhaps the day wasn't that bad after all …

                        *                      *                      *

Chiba Mamoru had been caught off guard by Usagi's terse order, but he was thankful that they hadn't gotten into another of their legendary spats.  His day had been beyond terrible, starting off moderately evilly by being a Monday.  His alarm clock had gone off at four in the morning and after he had beaten it beyond recognition, his phone had rang absurdly loud with the guard in the parking lot on to tell him to get downstairs and turn off his car alarm – it had a tendency to go off at the most ridiculous of hours.  After apologizing several times to the miffed superintendent and the guard on duty he had returned to his apartment and had almost fallen asleep when there came a crash from outside as a semi-truck clipped a moving van and sirens blared from the distance as an ambulance, fire truck and at least five police cars drove up, other drivers screaming angrily at the sudden roadblock.  Mamoru hadn't gotten much sleep before that, he had been woken from his regular dream by an explosion of pain through his mind and chest that signified danger for Sailor Moon somewhere, around two in the morning and after dealing with the ugly of the night, he'd tossed and turned until nearly three before falling asleep again.

            At roughly five o'clock, he realized that he'd be getting no more sleep and so he went to take a shower, discovering too late that there was no hot water.  Freezing and grumpy from lack of sleep, he'd dressed in his jogging clothes and left the building to get a breath of fresh air and to maybe clear the grey clouds building above his head – both literally and metaphorically – and he had very nearly fallen into an open sewer.  The workers, clad in bright orange uniforms that hurt the eye, had told him off and he had exchanged a few words not bearing repeating before jogging off again.  On the course of his morning jog, he was nearly plowed over by two bicyclers, a small yapping dog had decided to chase him three blocks, the coffee he ordered from the café he stopped in had been marginally warm and not even made like he ordered and the muffin had been hard as a rock.

            When he finally made it back home, after escaping an angry young mother who apparently thought he had tried to abduct her wailing child, he discovered that his school uniform hadn't been put away properly in his dresser and so he was adorned in a rumpled pair of navy blue jeans and a white shirt with the collar twisted and to top it all off, his olive green jacket was buried in a pile of dirty clothes, one of his shoes was missing and his homework had decided to scatter itself around when he tried to ready his bag.  After locating his missing shoe and gathering his papers, he'd gone to brush his teeth and discovered that his toothpaste was clogged with water.  He dug a brown leather coat from the back of his closet, haphazardly ran a hand through his thick ebony hair and hadn't even bothered to try and make himself look any more presentable.  His hair was defiant to any attempts of being brushed and so he chose to live with the bed head for one day.

            His motorcycle was in the shop for a refit so he went for his car only to find that his keys were locked inside.  Not surprising considering how alert he had been when he went to turn off the chirping alarm, but it didn't bode well for the rest of his day.  He was running late and he had no ride to school.  Growling beneath his breath, he smacked his car – hurting his hand – and had run off to school, arriving to a professor looking thoroughly displeased.  After tuning out his warning, he found that the papers he'd gathered weren't even the ones he needed for the day and had wound up having to stay after in class at the end of the school day.

            His boss had chewed him out for being late to work – courtesy of his teacher – and Mamoru had gone through the time there with a grim-faced knack for stumbling into more trouble.  When he was finally released from his 'prison', it had started to rain and he had stopped by the Crown Parlor Arcade only to find out that Motoki had called in sick that day and Unazuki was in a pissed off mood as well.  Resigning himself to an early night, he had left and ended up on his rump in a puddle of mud after walking into Tsukino.  The short meeting had been unusual but not precisely strained and he glanced back at the good-natured girl who seemed in as bad a mood as he and allowed a small smile to grace his handsome features.  The encounter had given him new hope and suddenly the day didn't look quite as dismal as it had.


End file.
